A PUPPET ON A STRING

CHAPTER 1

Killing the thought, Stephen and the half dozen angels that were sitting too close.Sniffing the bourbon laced smelling salts to revive himself. The cube of ice had now melted to that of a pebble. God had given up on him. But he'd be back.Washing the remainder of the drink about the bottom of the glass, now the color of pale piss. Gulping it down, he contemplates another.With little thought he looks over to the barmaid.

"One for the road thanks Chelsea." Frank raises the glass and rattles the pathetic remainder of God within.It would only be his fourth, or sixth for the day. Not that he was counting. He was not going anywhere in a hurry. Keeping the dark thoughts at bay for another hour. Was it depression? Depression was a dirty word. Depression is what other people had. He may have been glum, down. Out perhaps. But not depressed.Closing his eyes he imagined a small candle flickering in an immense darkness.Hope. Of a future beyond the now. He had would not surrender to the darkness so easily.What was the grand lesson that God was trying to teach him? Suffering?Yeah. An ex-wife would do that to anyone. And where were the damn Guardian Angels that were supposed to have been looking over him? No doubt sitting beside him drowning their sorrows too. Frank wondered if they ever got depressed. Chelsea pushes a drink a glass in front of him.

"Thanks Chelsea." Frank smelt the strong aromas as though savoring a fine wine.The earthy odors aroused his nostrils. Twitching at the fresh earthly fumes.

"Cheers boys." Frank saluted his angelic friends.Chelsea looks over to see who Frank was talking to, but only saw him talking to himself. Taking a mouthful, allowed it to waltz over his tongue before swallowing the elixir that had kept him sane the past months.How long had he been out of work he wondered? Had he lost track of the months that had passed since his redundancy? Five, six, seven? Had it been that long? After a year he would be seen as damaged goods. Some absences could be explained away as holiday, time out. But sooner or later the reality of his situation could not be buried so easily.Patrons exit the bar to the safe haven of their parked vehicles.

Suddenly a gust of wind rushes in through the bar doors of the bar as though to escape the foul weather outside. Sending a cold draft through the bar. The icy air slapped his face. Distracting him from the dark thoughts. Caught between channels his mind switched. And he reaches for his drink for protection.Heavy rain and hail stones pelted the bar's windows. A log fire at the far end flared with flames. The dimming day outside had surrendered to the edarkness. He was reluctant to leave the warmth and comfort of the bar. It insulated him from the reality of the cruel world outside. Maybe another one be fore he goes he thought. Hoping to sustain the simulated sanctuary a little longer.

His mind searches for life lines. Family? What family? They may as well have been strangers. Having nothing in common with them but their parents. And even then he thought he had been adopted. Blood maybe thicker than water, but bourbon tasted better. Daniels was his kin.He thought of his father. His hero. Also an accountant. Something Frank had vowed he would never be. Yet here he sat. What would his father say about Frank's lot? Silence was the loudest thing he ever said. Recalling the time his father had given him a blank check for his study.

Harboring the guilt that he had not repaid him since. But knowing he would never want to be repaid. To his father it was a gift. Not a debt. It was family. Not business. It was his way of saying, 'I love you.' Without ever having say it verbally. It was a generation althing. Something Frank vowed would not repeat with his son Jack.Frank's only regret that he had never told him he loved him. Hoping that his father was proud of him his accomplishments. As Frank was of his him.Knowing as a parent himself, you make sacrifices for your children. So they can get ahead. Even if it meant you went without.What would his father say right now?